//------------------------------// // Uncommon Sight // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Nurse Abernathy bit her lip as sweat gathered at her brow. She couldn’t believe the situation she was in and it didn’t help her at all that Rainbow Dash was confidently grinning at her the whole time. She thought things looked good, but she had thought that before and been dead wrong. Her chartreuse hooves shook as she laid the cards she was holding flat on the tray in front of her. “Full House,” she said as confidently as she could muster to the blue pegasus. Rainbow Dash whistled. “That’s a good hoof. Unfortunately...” She laid her own cards down to show off the Straight Flush she held. “How?!” Nurse Abernathy yelled, a bit too loudly for a hospital room, even a private one. “How do you always win?!” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I dunno. I’ve always had super good luck when it comes to card games.” “Ugh… I thought I was pretty decent at this game,” the nurse pouted. The two of them had been playing poker for a while now, it was already the evening of the day Rainbow Dash had been brought to the hospital and she was looking for anything that could pass the time. Oreville’s book selection wasn’t quite her cup of tea and when Rainbow Dash had gotten bored she asked Nurse Abernathy what else they could do. The nurse was now sitting on a stool with Rainbow’s food tray on the bed in-between them. Despite the numerous hooves of poker they had gone through, Nurse Abernathy hadn’t won once. “Kind of tough to judge yourself against me,” Rainbow said. “You’d make a killing at the casinos,” Nurse Abernathy murmured. Rainbow Dash thought about the last time she had been to a casino. “Wouldn’t mind...” The nurse took the short break from their game to visually inspect Rainbow Dash. “A lot of the swelling around your face has gone down. There’s still a decent amount of discoloration but I think by the time you wake up tomorrow you’ll look much better.” “Good, I want to be out of here tomorrow.” Abernathy giggled. “You say that but you were fast asleep for hours just earlier today.” “Well I hadn’t gotten real sleep in a while,” Rainbow Dash blushed. “Guess all the fatigue caught up to me once I had a good bed and nothing else to do.” “Speaking of, I can bring you something that will help you sleep tonight so your body’s normal routine isn’t ruined too badly.” “Thanks.” Nurse Abernathy’s eyes than wandered to Rainbow Dash’s wings. “You know… would you be alright with me giving your wings a medical examination? N-Not that I think there’s anything wrong with them or that they’re injured! But um, I’ve never seen a pegasus or had to treat any creature with wings before. I’m very intrigued by how they function and your skeletal structure.” “Uhhh, gonna have to give you a no on that,” Rainbow Dash told the nurse with an awkward scrunch of her face. She pouted. “Well, they’re your wings after all.” She continued to look the feathered blue appendages over. “Believe me though, you’re going to get a lot of looks anywhere you go in Oreville. A pegasus isn’t just rare, it’s unheard of these days.” “Good thing I like being special then,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Center of attention? Sign me up.” Abernathy giggled. “Good to know how enthusiastic you are. I still think all the staring is going to get unnerving rather quickly.” “Eh, I’ve been to places like this where I’m the odd one out before. Sometimes even way more the odd one than just having wings,” Rainbow Dash said as she thought about her time in the Mammoth city. “Anyways, you want to play more poker?” “No thank you. I think I’ve lost enough,” Nurse Abernathy shook her head. Rainbow Dash sighed and leaned back onto her bed. “It’s already evening now, Barnaby’s been gone all day. I just want him to get back here already and tell me what’s going on so I can get out of here. No offense, cause it’s been fun hanging out with you, but I really, really want to leave the hospital. Need to stretch my wings.” She didn’t add the part about looking for adventure and any trouble afoot in Oreville. “Does a meeting with your Lord guys seriously take this long?” “I didn’t want to eavesdrop but last time he was here it sounded like he had a few things he needed to do for you,” Abernathy said. “Government stuff,” Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue. “Blegh.” Abernathy giggled again. “I don’t think you really need to worry or anything though. Barnaby’s an important pony and I’m sure he’ll be back before-” The door to the hospital room was thrown open and Barnaby sauntered inside with a large smile on his face. “-you know it.” Abernathy finished, blinking. “Welcome back,” Rainbow Dash grinned and waved at him. “Glad to see you’re doing alright, and looking much better,” Barnaby said. “I think I’ll excuse myself then,” Nurse Abernathy said and hopped off her stool, nodding politely to both other ponies before leaving the room. “Goodbye Chief Constable, goodbye Miss Rainbow Dash.” “See ya!” Rainbow said to her and then raised an eyebrow at Barnaby. “Glad to see you back at all by the way. How’d it go?” Barnaby’s already large smile somehow got even bigger. “Swimmingly. I was going to wait until morning to come by since you’ll still be spending the night here anyways, but I had to tell you the good news as soon as possible. Lord Silver was very intrigued to hear of you and he and Lord Gold have approved your visa. You are now Oreville’s very important guest. While I know you will not care for the title, you have the honor of being known as the Ambassador of Equestria.” “Been called worse things,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Tomorrow I’ll actually bring you your visa and then you can get your first real look at Oreville. Just the Copper Section for now, there’s a lot to see,” Barnaby continued. “Works for me, anything sounds good now.” “Of course because you’re such a special occurrence… in a couple days time a meeting has been set up between you and the three Lords. Nothing special, but just a dinner where they can get to know you,” Barnaby nervously scratched his neck. “Three?” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “Lord Copper of course will also be there...” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Ugh, great.” “Think of it this way, your presence will make him thoroughly uncomfortable. And you’re untouchable to him now,” Barnaby said. “I guess...” As Rainbow Dash paused while her mind went over the fact she’d have to go to some annoying, sure to be stuffy dinner, she glanced outside her hospital window and noticed the lights in the ceiling slowly begin to dim. It seemed it was even later than she thought and Oreville was beginning to rest. So much to see and so much to do and yet another day had passed her by like this. There had been times where she had been laid up before on her journey, but usually not before getting to really do anything herself. “You know-” Rainbow Dash said as she continued to look out the window. “I hope you’re coming by first thing tomorrow morning. As soon as the lights turn on.” “I promise,” Barnaby said. “You’ll have breakfast here and then we’ll be right out. Just try to rest and enjoy another night of sleep if you can. After all you still haven’t fully healed.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I’m tough and I’ve had… worse beatings. You’ll see tomorrow morning, I’ll be fantastic.” “I believe you. But for now I will also be leaving. Good night, Rainbow Dash,” Barnaby said and bowed to her. “Good night, dude. You’ll probably sleep better than me,” Rainbow mockingly saluted. Barnaby chuckled as he pushed open the door and left her room, waving goodbye as he went. Rainbow Dash watched him go and turned over on her bed with a sigh. “You had better be back first thing in the morning.” She grumbled. “So how’s it feel to be out of that bed?” Barnaby asked her as the two walked out of the hospital. “Feels even better than I look,” Rainbow Dash said. And it was true, the swelling around her face had gone down and most of the bruises and discoloration on her body had shrunk or faded away. Rainbow Dash was a quick healer. Helped having such a strong and healthy body. The two of them were now on the sidewalk right outside the hospital and Rainbow Dash was taking a big look around at the newly awoken Copper Section. It was still early but droves of ponies were already walking up and down the streets on their way to work or any other sort of engagements. She saw carts and carriages being pulled down the paved streets along with red-suited constables like Barnaby making their rounds. One young colt stood at a corner selling newspapers while an older mare sat behind a mobile stand and sold coffee to ponies walking by. “This… really is a nice place, isn’t it?” Rainbow Dash said as she took it all in. “I’m glad you think so. This? This working harmony and friendly atmosphere between ponies, friends and strangers alike, this is the true spirit of Oreville. Not the mistreatment you went through and the filthy behavior of Lord Copper,” Barnaby said. Rainbow Dash glanced up at him with a smile. “You really love your city.” “Of course,” Barnaby nodded. “I feel the same way about Equestria. And I’ve got a lot of friends who feel that way even more,” she thought about how passionate Applejack was about Ponyville and her farm in particular. A smile slightly tugged up the corners of Barnaby’s lips. “Regardless—before anything else, I have something to give you.” He said and began rooting around inside a pocket of his suit. Rainbow Dash watched as he pulled out a laminated name-tag on a black lanyard. “Ta-da, your diplomat’s visa!” He beamed at her. It was a simple thing for the most part, a white card with her name printed in the middle and some kind of seal that looked like a circle separated into three triangles with wavy lines of gold, silver, and copper drawn in them pressed right beneath that. In the top left corner a large “D” was printed. “This might as well be your key to the city,” Barnaby said as he looped it around her neck. “Keep it on you at all times and you’ll have no problems here.” “Thanks, dude. This is really awesome,” Rainbow Dash happily smiled at her name-tag as she held it in her hooves. “I’ve been treated really well before in a couple places but I don’t think anything has been so… official before. And you barely even know me, you’re really putting a lot of trust in me and everything.” “You’re a very… passionate pony,” Barnaby said, as if struggling to find the right words. “There’s a fiery aura about you, something moving, something powerful. Just the way you talk and the way you act simply makes me believe there’s something truly special about you.” “Well in fairness there totally is,” Rainbow plainly nodded along. “Hah! That attitude is precisely what I’m talking about,” Barnaby laughed. “Either way, let’s get going. I’ll take you to the center of the Copper Section, the part of the city you initially entered into. There we can see, oh, practically everything. And get lunch when the time comes, I can think of several great places.” “Uhhh, I can’t exactly pay...” “I’ll pay. Or more accurately, the government will be covering all of your costs. You needn’t worry about a thing.” Good thing I’m not the Element of Generosity right now. Rainbow Dash mused. The two of them walked down the street away from the hospital, walking due east down a street with a red line painted along the sidewalk, Rainbow Dash didn’t need to ask to know it was to indicate a specific direction or place you would reach by heading down this street. At the corners there were the occasional street signs with names that looked like they took after minerals or metals; “Onyx”, “Iron”, “Steel” and so forth. She doubted it would take much effort to find her way around this city, big as it was, since everything was well designated. Eventually their street converged with a couple others and went straight into an underground tunnel that had numerous lanes for things like carriages and wide walkways on the sides for ponies to travel through. Beyond it, Rainbow Dash could already see the sprawling “skyscrapers” and cityscape she had witnessed when she first entered Oreville. She felt numerous eyes on her while walking with Barnaby and looked around—lots of ponies were staring at her. Some even paused in their walking to just gawk at her. She was kind of holding up traffic at this point. “Kind of getting a lot of stares right now...” Rainbow Dash said. “You might want to look at those things on the side of your body to figure out why,” Barnaby said. Rainbow Dash looked at her wings and lightly fluttered them. “Well, yeah. Also kind of noticed how you guys are really fond of clothes here. Don’t think I’ve seen a single pony yet not wearing any.” “It is indeed the norm here in Oreville to wear clothing. Not so in Equestria?” Barnaby asked. “Not really. Depends on where you go. Most ponies in Canterlot and Manehattan wear clothes, I think, but most ponies in Ponyville don’t. My friend Rarity though is a fashion designer, but none of my friends really wear clothes that much and unless I’m working I don’t either,” Rainbow told him. Barnaby nodded. “I see. I don’t think anypony here will really give you heat for not wearing clothes, it’s hardly a taboo or anything, but it’s going to make you stick out just as much as your wings. And your mane. And your name.” “I stick out. I get it,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. The two of them walked out of the large tunnel and Rainbow Dash got a full view of the central Copper Section city once again. Its massive size and the architecture of it still amazed her. And to think this was but one portion of the massive city-state of Oreville. Thousands of ponies walked down the streets at a quick pace alongside dozens of carts carrying things like heavy machinery to who knows where. In the distance, Rainbow Dash saw a large mansion-like building built on one end of the huge cave, surrounded by an imposing stone wall. “That’s the Copper Section Central Administrative Building,” Barnaby told her, following her eyes. “So where Lord Copper works, huh?” “For a given meaning of the word, yes.” Rainbow Dash noticed that practically right next to it was some kind of train station. No—tram station, that had its rail line going into a dark cave. It must’ve been what Barnaby spoke of, that cave probably went to the Silver and Gold Sections. As they continued walking along the outer streets of this area of the Copper Section, Rainbow Dash saw things like elevators that looked like they went right into holes in the ground, passages leading into the walls of the mountain, huge warehouses and other buildings built directly into the rock, and more of those wide open holes that went deep down and had catwalks and walkways built all across them on the way down. “I get the feeling there’s a lot more to this place than just what I’m seeing,” Rainbow Dash said. “You would be correct in that assumption,” Barnaby grinned. “All in due time.” As they now walked towards the center of the city, Rainbow Dash saw another pair of red-suited constables walking together. She frowned and glanced over at Barnaby. “Hey, so… been meaning to ask but… should you really be doing this? Escorting me around? I mean you’re like a police officer. This isn’t exactly your job, right? Don’t you have other police duties to do or whatever?” “I’m the Chief Constable,” Barnaby said with a smirk. “That means I don’t do the same typical work as others. I handle workflow, designate jobs, take charge of big cases, and I take my work very, very seriously. I take the safety and well-being of Oreville most seriously of all.” He glanced at her. “And there is no one I trust more right now than myself to do this job.” Rainbow Dash silently kept walking along with him, just humming to herself for a moment. How come she kept getting guides attached to her like this? Not that she didn’t like them or wasn’t grateful or nothing, but still. First Larkon, then Ark’Nogt, and now Barnaby. All guys too. Maybe it was because she was a mare? No, Larkon and Ark’Nogt were married. And Ark’Nogt was a Reindeer. And Larkon was a Mammoth. It just didn’t add up. “Ya married, Barnaby?” Rainbow Dash asked him. He chuckled. “Hah, no I’m afraid. I’m actually married to my job.” “I guess you could say I’m married to adventure and being awesome so I get it,” Rainbow shrugged. “Indeed,” he laughed a bit more. “Anyways I’ll be alerted if anything important comes up for my regular work, right now I do think it’s in the best interest of Oreville—and yourself—if I stay with you.” “Alright,” Rainbow nodded. “Of course… that’s why I’m a bit hesitant about something else,” Barnaby started. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at him. “What is it?” “Well you’ll obviously need a place to stay while you’re here, right? Lord Silver suggested procuring you a temporary apartment in Gold Section. But I’m a bit hesitant to have you staying so far from my own home and office in Copper Section. Gold Section would be the most fitting and has the best places for a diplomat such as yourself to stay, but still. Luckily Lord Gold wasn’t as… responsive when the subject came up so it hasn’t been decided yet.” Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow. “You know you’ve kind of referred to that Lord Gold dude in a weird way a couple of times. What’s up with him?” Barnaby awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. “Lord Gold is… old. Very old. Unfortunately he’s just not all there anymore. On most days he isn’t very cognizant at all and he has to be attended to by servants at all times. However, until he actually dies, no one else can become Lord Gold.” “Uh, sorry to hear...” “It’s fine, it’s been like this for years now. Let’s continue going through the city, there’s quite a lot to see.” He was right about that. Even if Rainbow Dash had been flying and looking around on her own it would’ve taken her a while to get through this whole place. Dozens of buildings, some tall enough to have almost fifty floors, covered the city. According to Barnaby they were mostly offices for various businesses and some apartment buildings. Rainbow Dash kind of wanted to fly up and by their windows to look inside but she figured that would probably spook some of the ponies inside. They also took a tour around a district more for “manufacturing”, smaller buildings like warehouses that Barnaby said built carriages and heavy mining equipment, among other things. He even pointed out a textile manufacturer, something that Rainbow Dash remembered for later since Rarity would probably appreciate learning about it. “See that building in the middle of the city?” Barnaby said as the two of them walked down one of the main streets. He was pointing at a three-story building painted red with a large garage on one side, it sat between a few other smaller buildings and what looked like a small apartment complex. “Fire Service. Centralized so they can reach anywhere in the city as quickly as possible.” Rainbow Dash nodded along and looked around for anything else notable. All she really saw was some outdoor cafe built in the courtyard of a large skyscraper. “Hey, Barnaby? What do ponies do for fun around here? It’s all businesses and stuff,” Rainbow Dash asked him. “You guys not believe in fun and games or something?” He smiled. “I can assure you we do but this part of the city isn’t exactly the place for that. There are a few outdoor places for lounging and relaxing, but generally speaking if you want entertainment you’d need to go elsewhere in the Copper Section.” “Abernathy did mention a casino actually...” “Yes, that’s in a part of the Copper Section through a southern tunnel, I can take you to visit it at some point. We have gymnasiums as well, I’m sure that interests an athletic pony like yourself, along with gardens and swimming pools, sports centers, it’s just most all of that is in other areas or just not here in the city center,” Barnaby explained. “There’s a large school a little to the east, between Copper and Silver Sections, and around it is a number of parks and recreational areas for families and younger ponies.” “Got a library? My friend Twilight would probably like to hear about what kinds of books you guys keep. The hospital library was, uh, not well stocked,” Rainbow said. “The Metropolitan Library in Gold Section should suit your needs. Besides that there are a few book stores scattered about here and there in every section.” “Cool,” Rainbow said and the two resumed their travels through the city. Ponies kept staring at her everywhere they went, just like they had been at the start. She smiled and gave a few friendly waves but most of the Oreville residents seemed too surprised or confused to return them. She saw one family even grasp the hooves of their children a little tighter when they saw Rainbow, only relaxing when they noticed Barnaby walking with her. Not exactly a warm welcome even though the average pony here seemed pretty nice. They just weren’t used to outsiders—or maybe had even been taught to be a little afraid of them. It was weird to think though that she had probably had a friendlier reception from the Mammoths though, despite the even wider gap between them and her. Barnaby had been a little cool with her when she first met him outside her cell though and he warmed up right away after a little talk. These ponies just needed to get to know her better too. Barnaby also noticed the looks she was still receiving and spoke up. “I wouldn’t be worried for long. Our newspapers will be printing a favorable story about you tomorrow. You’ll be a hot-topic and ponies will be happy to see you.” “If you say so. I definitely prefer being the center of attention in a positive way,” Rainbow said. “I’m used to stares but more when it’s coming from admirers and ponies who know how awesome I am.” Most of the morning went by just like that until it finally came time for lunch and Barnaby said he had somewhere special to take her for it. That turned out to be the top floor of a large building, which had the whole floor converted into an extravagant restaurant, apparently the most high-class and exclusive one in Copper Section. Only Rainbow Dash’s VIP status allowed the two of them in here. Barnaby made it obvious that he’d never be eating here otherwise. All the waiters and waitresses were wearing utterly immaculate suits and most of the patrons were themselves wearing either tuxedos or fancy dresses of some sort. Rarity would love it. The restaurant had a pony playing a slow tune on the piano in the corner and every table had an expensive looking vase with flowers in the center. Even the chairs at each table looked expensive, made from a carved dark brown wood with red velvet cushions. A few fountains and planters seeded with exotic flowers were placed around the black hardwood floor of the restaurant. “This is pretty snazzy,” Rainbow Dash said as she and Barnaby took a seat at a table for two by one of the windows, it overlooked a courtyard set between several buildings that had ponies walking in and out of it below. “You should see some of the better restaurants in Gold Section,” Barnaby leaned in to whisper to her. “Don’t let the waiters hear you say that,” Rainbow Dash grinned. And just a minute later a waiter came out with two glasses and a pair of menus that he gave to them. If he was perturbed or surprised by her wings he was professional enough to not let it show on his face. Rainbow Dash took her glass and menu but stopped before she took a drink. It looked like water but it was fizzy. “Uhhhh, what is this?” Rainbow asked Barnaby. “Hm? Have you not had mineral water before?” He raised an eyebrow at her. Rainbow Dash scratched her head. “I think I’ve heard of it… maybe Rarity or Twilight mentioned it or something.” “Well go right ahead and take a drink, it’s of exceptional quality.” Rainbow Dash shrugged and brought the glass to her lips, the fizzy water tickled her nose and tongue a little but she managed to take a big sip. It was weird. It didn’t taste bad or anything but it just felt super odd and strange to be drinking water like this. The carbonation made it almost like she was drinking a soda and there was some weird kind of extra flavor or sharpness to it that she couldn’t exactly describe. And then the texture of it too. Texture—you weren’t supposed to use that word to describe water but Rainbow Dash couldn’t help it. There was almost a grittiness to it but it wasn’t quite at that level. Still just so weird feeling. “Whew, well, it’s refreshing,” Rainbow Dash said as she finished her drink, watching Barnaby take one of his own. She then grabbed the menu and opened it up—seeing a lot of fancy names for entrees and having no idea where to start. Rainbow Dash grimaced and set the menu down. “Uhhh, what do you recommend?” Barnaby smirked and motioned their waiter over while collecting his and Rainbow’s menus. “Two of your lightly roasted oat steaks with hibiscus and pomegranate.” Barnaby said to the waiter while passing the menus back. “Of course,” the waiter calmly bowed and went back to deliver the order to the chefs. “Oat… steaks? Maybe it’s just me but I feel like I’ve entered some kind of alternate dimension in this restaurant,” Rainbow Dash said. “Just wait for it,” Barnaby laughed. Rainbow shrugged and sat back, looking at some of the other diners in the restaurant. Definitely the upper crust types like she would see in Canterlot back home. Some of them were stealing glances and whispering about her but Rainbow Dash ignored them for now. She just wanted to eat. About thirty minutes of small talk and Rainbow Dash trying to get used to mineral water later, their food came. The waiter expertly slid two porcelain plates onto their table and Rainbow Dash checked out what she was about to eat. It was certainly pretty, she had to give it that. A rectangular “steak” of oats was cooked together with honey and sitting in the middle of the plate while small flowers were placed around it and a drizzling of pomegranate juice and seeds were done in a floral pattern radiating out from the oats. At this point, Rainbow Dash didn’t have the heart to say she’d probably just prefer an apple or a hayburger. It did taste good when she dug into it though but the portion was a little small for her tastes. So she perhaps did something a little uncouth and licked up all the juice on the plate. “That was pretty good,” Rainbow smiled to Barnaby. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” “What did that cost anyways? I didn’t see prices on my menu.” “There’s a saying: ‘If you have to ask then you can’t afford it’. Believe me when I say that is an accurate statement for this restaurant,” Barnaby smirked. “If it’s all on Lord Copper’s tab then that works for me,” Rainbow smirked back. Barnaby took a little bit longer than Rainbow Dash to finish his meal but once he was done he took a deep breath and sighed in contentment. “Well, that should keep us for the rest of the day. I wanted us to have full stomachs before I took you to what I really wanted to show you today. The most important thing of all.” A proud look came over Barnaby’s face as he spoke. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at him and tilted her head. “Oh yeah? What?” “The lifeblood of our people ever since this great city was founded, and why we came here in the first place and continued to live and build more. The mines of Oreville.”